Upgrade Triple Cash vs Care Credit vs Care Credit Mastercard

Upgrade Triple Cash is a Legit Alternative to CareCredit

CareCredit offers financing for people to pay medical providers, prescription drugs and even pet care. They offer both a "closed loop" CareCredit Card which can be used at over 260,000 medical provider partners and a Mastercard version which offers a reward program. Many people who are looking for an alternative to CareCredit may want to give the Upgrade Triple Cash Rewards Visa a closer look. The Upgrade Card is a credit card that works like a loan and has a bonus cash back rewards program whereby you can earn 3% cash back on Health, Home and Auto expenses. In this comparison, we will look at both cards closely and see which is the better card for paying your medical bills.

CareCredit: Brief Description

CareCredit cards are issued by Synchrony Bank and are designed to help people to finance medical expenses that are not covered by insurance. There are two version of the CareCredit cards - the regular closed loop version where it can only be used at medical provider partners and the Mastercard version where you can use anywhere Mastercard is accepted.

CareCredit Mastercard

The CareCredit Mastercard allows you to earn 2x points in the CareCredit Network of providers on eligible health and wellmess purchases and also at grocery and pet stores. There is no annual fee for this card. When you apply online, you will first be considered for this Mastercard version. If you do not qualify, then you will be considered for the "closed loop" version of the card.

CareCredit Card - Closed Loop Version

The Closed Loop version of the CareCredit Card can only be used at medical providers or merchants who are partners of CareCredit (over 260,000). Like the Mastercard version, there is no annual fee. But unlike the Mastercard version, there are no rewards program. If you apply by phone, you will only be considered for this version. So if you are looking for the Mastercard version, you should apply online.

Promotional Financing

Both CareCredit cards may offer you promotional financing. You can either be offered:

• O% Interest to be paid in full for 6,12,18, or 24 months for purchases of $200 or more
• A reduced interest rate and fixed monthly payment until the balance is paid in full

If you are offered the 0% interest deal, you should pay off the balance within the promotional period. If not, you will be charged interest retroactively from the start date rather than the end of the promotional period.

Types of Providers and Partners

CareCredit cards has partners in the following areas:

Animal and Petcare | Chiropractic | Cosmetic | Dentistry | Dermatology | Funeral, Cremation and Burial | Health Symtoms and Hospitals | Hearing | Labs and Diagnostics | Med Equipment and Supplies | Pharmacies and General Wellness | Primary Care Clinics | Sleep | Spa | Specialist | Vision | Weight Loss and Nutrition |

Specifically, CareCredit is accepted at the following stores:

PetsBest | Walgreens | Walmart | Sam's Club | Albertsons | Sleep Number | Mayo Clinic Diet | Rite Aid | Duane Reade | VSP Vision | GoodRX |

CareCredit's Health System Partners Include

Advent Health | AtlantiCare | CoxHealth | Mary Washington Healthcare | MercyHealth | Eskenazi Health | Essentia Health | Health First | St Luke's

Upgrade Triple Cash Rewards Visa - Brief Description

The Upgrade Triple Cash Rewards Visa is a credit card whose payments resemble that of an installment loan. When you charge an expense to the Upgrade card, you will have to pay back the balance over a fixed maturity with equal installments. The term maturity and interest will be given to you when you apply for the card and there are no hard inquires when you set up your Upgrade account to see what offer and terms you will receive. When you make a purchase on the card, Upgrade considers it a "draw" on your line of credit, similar to a draw on a conventional line of credit. You can make multiple draws on your Upgrade card. The Upgrade Triple Cash has no annual fee.

Because of the nature of the card, Upgrade reports to the three major credit bureaus as an installment loan and will only report your draws.

The Upgrade Triple Cash Rewards is also a bonus category credit card where you can earn 3% cash back on Home, Auto and Health categories. Since this is a comparison between the Upgrade Triple and CareCredit, I will now list out what is considered an eligible expense in this very broad "Health Category".

Upgrade Health Category

Bicycle Shop-Sales and Services | Chiropractors | Counseling Services - Debt, Marriage, and Personal | Dance Halls, Studios & Schools | Dentists and Orthodontists | Doctors and Physicians - Not Elsewhere Classified | Drug Stores and Pharmacies | Health and Beauty Spas | Hearing Aids--Sales, Service, and Supplies | Hospitals | Medical and Dental Laboratories | Medical Services Health Practitioners - Not Elsewhere Classified | Membership Clubs (Sports, Recreation, Athletic), Country Clubs, and Private Golf Courses | Nursing and Personal Care Facilities | Optometrists and Ophthalmologists | Orthopedic Goods and Prosthetic Devices | Osteopathic Physicians | Podiatrists and Chiropodists | Public Golf Courses | Recreation Services - Not Elsewhere Classified | Sporting Goods Stores | Sports and Riding Apparel Stores

Similarities

Both allow you to earn rewards for medical expenses

Both the CareCredit card and the Upgrade Triple Cash offer rewards for medical expenses. The Upgrade Triple Cash lets you earn 3% cash back on health expenses. The CareCredit Mastercard version allows you toe 2X points on eligible health and wellness purchases and at grocery and pet stores and 1X on regular purchases. The CareCredit "closed loop" card has no reward program.

Both allow you to use the card with a variety of medical providers and partners

CareCredit has a specific network of medical providers and partners where you can use the CareCredit Card (espeically if you do not get approved for the Mastercard version). You can search for CareCredit providers here.

In contrast, the Upgrade Triple Cash allows you to earn 3% cash back on a very broad "health category" which incliudes medical providers. Upgrade does not have any specific partners. Instead, Upgrade will know if you use a medical provider or any merchant in the health category via their merchant code.

No annual fee

Both CareCredit cards and the Upgrade Triple Cash Rewards have no annual fee.

Differences

Upgrade Works Like a Loan with Equal Payment Installments

Both the CareCredit Card and the CareCredit Mastercard works exactly like a regular credit card. You put a medical expense on the card and pay it off like a regular credit card. You can pay in full, in partials or simply meet the minimum payments.

In contrast, Upgrade Triple Cash works like a loan. When you are approved for the card, you are given rate and a term maturity (24 or 36 months most of the time although it can be as high as 72 months). When you charge a medical expense to the card, you will then have to pay off this expense in equal installments over the term maturity just like a loan.

Upgrade Triple Cash gives you rewards in other categories

Aside from Health expenses, the Upgrade Triple Cash also allows you to earn 3% cash back on Home and Auto related expenses. In contrast, the CareCredit "closed loop" card only allows you to earn 2X reward points at providers who have partnerships with CareCredit.

CareCredit Occasionally offers Promotional Financing

CareCredit offers short term financing option. For example, they do offer 0% financing for up to 24 months for expenses more than $200. However, you have to be aware that if you do not pay off the balance within the promotional financing period, they will charge back dated interest.

CareCredit may also offer you lower interest in return for paying a fixed installment until the balance gets paid off (just like Upgrade Triple Cash).

CareCredit may close your account after a period of inactive use

CareCredit has been known to close accounts if a cardholders has not used it for a while. This may leave someone in a stuation whereby you get another medical expenses but the card has been closed by the issuer.

In contrast, the Upgrade Triple Cash is not known for closing accounts. Furthermore, they have rewards in other bonus categories that you are more likely to use the card when you have no medical expenses anyway.

Which is better? Upgrade or CareCredit?

Both the Upgrade and CareCredit cards allow you to charge your medical expenses and earn reward points. In the case of the Upgrade Triple Cash Rewards, you earn 3% cash back whereas the CareCredit Mastercard allows you to earn 2X points on health and wellness expenses and also on grocery and pet store spending.

Before deciding on either cards, you should go through the following steps:

1. Look at both cards "health and wellness" categories

Both CareCredit and Upgrade are very transparant in which type of expenses are fall under their "health" category. But Upgrade has some types of expenses that are not present in CareCredits' category and vice versa. You should examine both categories closely and choose accordingly.

2. Consider your payment plan

Another consideration is how do you intend to pay off your balance. If you go with the Upgrade card, then you will be paying the balance off like an installment loan with equal monthly payments for the term maturity set for you.

With CareCredit, you simply pay it off like a regular credit card where you can just pay the minumum balance (not suggested) or pay more than the minimum balance and pay it off as soon as possible.

3. If you are are interested in short term 0% financing

If you are looking for 0% financing, then CareCredit offers them IF you are eligible. You may get 0% financing for 6,12,18, or 24 months. However, CareCredit's form of 0% financing is different from 0% deals you see in regular credit cards. If you fail to pay off the balance by the end of the 0% period, then you have to back pay the interest during the promotional period. Hence, I would actually consider getting 0% deals from regular credit cards if you have excellent credit.

Do you want a card just for "Health" related expenses?

Another question you have to ask yourself is if you want a card just for "health" related spending. Though the CardCredit Mastercard also lets you earn rewards on grocery and pet spending, the Upgrade Triple Cash Rewards has IMO 2 better categories in "home" and "auto" spending as bonus categories.

So the Verdict is........

Based on the comparison above, I would give the edge to the Upgrade Triple Cash Rewards Visa because of 2 main factors. The first is because it has 3 main categories (including health). As I mentioned earlier, many people use their CareCredit just for one or two major medical expense and then stop using it. What ends up happening is the CareCredit will mostly cancel your card for inactive use. With 3 major categories giving you 3% cash back, you are more likely to use the Upgrade Triple Cash more frequently than CareCredit.

Upgrade Triple Cash Rewards also gives you 3% cash back on health related expenses. This is higher than 2X points you earn on the CareCredit Mastercard. The non-Mastercard version has no rewards so you will not even earn any rewards on health spending with the closed loop CareCredit card.

What I also like about the Upgrade Triple Cash Rewards is that you will end up paying off your expenses like a loan with equal installments. This will ensure that you will pay off your balance on a fixed date. The danger with financing medical expenses is that if you simply pay off the minimum balance of the CareCredit card, your interest will simply accumulate and it becomes harder to pay off the debt.

However, the CareCredit has promotional 0% financing that the Upgrade Triple Cash does not have. However, as I mentioned earlier, if you are looking for 0% financing, it is better to get it by applying for a regular credit card with 0% teaser deals because the one offered by CareCredit may result in you paying backdated interest if you do not pay the balance off by the end of the promotional period.

To sum up, if you are considering CareCredit cards, I would instead go with the Upgrade Triple Cash because of the reasons I mentioned above.